


I'll Give My Heart to You

by TheYellowTurtle



Series: ZKDD 2020 [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Crack, Dragon Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Lots of dialogue, Misunderstandings, Short King Zuko, Some Soulmate Vibes, Zutara Drabble December 2020, so many heart puns that heart now looks like a fake word to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28399962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheYellowTurtle/pseuds/TheYellowTurtle
Summary: When one of you is a dragon and the other is a human, misunderstandings are inevitable.(Day 29: In My Heart)
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), More like Pre Katara/Zuko
Series: ZKDD 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076558
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	I'll Give My Heart to You

**Author's Note:**

> I wouldn't call this good, but I did have fun writing it.
> 
> I changed my mind so many times about what to do for this prompt, that I'm genuinely surprised it got over 1k. 
> 
> Hope one of you enjoys this :3

Children throughout the Four Nations grow up hearing that if they follow their heart, then one day they will find their companion. Some of these lifelong partners will be fellow humans, others will be animals, and even fewer will be creatures so rare they are practically a myth. 

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe is one of these special cases. After months of traveling throughout the lands of the Earth Kingdom, the young woman finally meets the one that had been tugging on her heart. The first time she lays her eyes upon the dragon that is the color of a sunset, he is swimming amongst turtleducks in a lake. His name is Zuko. 

Zuko is a young dragon, but he has rarely known kindness. Most dragons would seek out their future partner as soon as possible, eager for the boost in power that comes with being bonded to their companion, but Zuko is not one of these dragons. His multiple hearts know betrayal and he is not ready to share one of them with this new face. 

However, Katara is quite patient —stubborn others would say— and so she waits until she becomes a familiar face, a welcome face. She brings treats for the turtleducks, reads plays purchased from the local market, and convinces him to work together to take care of some bandits causing trouble in the area. 

The two begin to forge a friendship, but not everything is smooth sailing. When two individuals come from such different backgrounds, sometimes cultural misunderstandings are inevitable. 

___

“Katara, do you even know how dragons finalize the bond?” 

“Yes, you give them your heart.” 

“So you’re ready to do that? To give me your heart?” 

“Hmm… I can’t exactly control the length of time it takes to forge a deep connection, but in my heart of hearts, I can see myself loving you one day.” 

“Love?!”

“Is that not the requirement for finalizing the bond between a human and a dragon? I give my heart to you, and you give your heart to me?” 

“What does love have to do with that?! You need to open your heart to me, to bare your heart before me, and then—”

“This sounds a lot like love to me, Zuko.” 

“And then I will have to rip your heart out!”

“Why would you do that?! What does breaking my heart have to do with this?!”

“Break your heart?! Why would I break your heart when it’s going in my own chest?!”

“...”

“Zuko, Tui and La, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“I’m the one that’s confused! You brought up being in l-l-love when we were discussing the simple procedure of placing one of my hearts in your chest, and placing yours in mine! Agni, a woman after my own heart, and she doesn’t even know the basics of dra—” 

“Hold on. You mean when people say that you have to give your heart to a dragon in order for the bond to be complete, they meant it literally?” 

“Of course!” 

“Oh. Wait. Zuko, what did you think I meant when I said I could see myself loving you one day?”

“... Do I have to answer that question?” 

“I think that would be for the best.” 

“...”

“Zuko, you can tell me anything.” 

“Well, Katara… I thought you were confessing your romantic interest in me, and I’m flattered, but you haven’t even seen my human form and—”

“Zuko, I was talking about loving you like a friend or family. Our relationship doesn’t have to be romantic for me to love you. Maybe we will be best friends or maybe someday we will be lovers. No matter the path we take, as lifelong companions, I hope that our bond will be characterized by trust, honesty, and love.”

“Wow.” 

“Was that too much?” 

“No! I just… We dragons don’t say love easily, but I hope we can have a bond like that someday, too.” 

“I’m glad… Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

“Will it hurt? When we exchange hearts?”

“It might sting a bit, but you shouldn’t feel any pain. I will take care of you.”

“I believe you.” 

___

The two cement their bond a year after meeting each other. Like Zuko promised, the process is painless and Katara is only left with a tiny scar on her chest. She feels a bit warmer than before, but for the most part, she can barely tell the difference. 

Zuko, on the other hand, is fascinated by the changes Katara’s heart has granted him. He has been stuck in his dragon form his whole life, so his newly acquired human hands and hair fascinate him. 

Katara watches him with adoring eyes as he flexes his fingers and runs his hands through his luscious-looking, long locks. After a thorough examination of his new form, Zuko’s golden gaze meets hers before a slight frown appears on his face. 

“Why are you taller than me?” he blurts out, “Have you been standing on your toes this whole time?” 

“No,” Katara replies with a snort. 

Zuko huffs out a puff of fire through his nose, and stomps over to where Katara is standing. He scans her up and down, looking for the source of this apparent discrepancy.

“Ah-ha!” Zuko cries, “Take off the shoes, Katara!”

“I don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference, Zuko,” she says, pulling off her boots. 

He gets a gleam in his eyes that informs Katara that every single centimeter counts in this proud dragon’s mind. 

With Katara’s boots lying on the ground, Zuko marches over and begins his comparison. After turning Katara every which way and multiple grumbles, he finally admits defeat. 

“We are… the same height,” he sighs, looking like someone had just told him all the turtleducks had flown south for the winter. 

Despite being a modestly sized dragon, Zuko had always liked to tease Katara about being tiny. Seeing the look on his face, he apparently never thought his smaller draconic stature would translate into a shorter human one. So Katara does the thing any good friend would do in this situation:

“Well, let’s go, pipsqueak! Adventure awaits!” 

He just gapes at her, before sputtering out, “We are the Same Height!” 

Katara laughs. “Okay, Zuko, if you say so. I’m going in this direction, so you better follow your heart.” 

“Katara!” 

Zuko watches her walk away for a moment, but he soon follows. Katara doesn’t know it, but she couldn’t be more correct. Because Zuko is following his heart. Not just in the draconic way, but also in the human way. 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, when I was thinking about Katara and Zuko interacting in this thing, I imagined them in the art style of pineapple-frenzy on tumblr. This is a cute drawing they did of Short King Zuko [[x]](https://pineapple-frenzy.tumblr.com/post/633244533113716736/hello-if-you-are-still-accepting-requests-could#notes).


End file.
